Chris Cornell’s widow Vicky discussed losing her husband to addiction in a series of new tweets, and why his incoherent and impaired behavior on the phone the night of his death led to her telling security to break down his door. Vicky Cornell has recently been bravely speaking out about addiction, and raising awareness for the opioid crisis in the United States. She recently joined the Addiction Policy Forum’s Advisory Board.

“So we should ignore the fact I was on the phone w/ him + called security to go break down the door b/c he was so incoherent +impaired. Seriously? How can one argue w/ such conviction about someone’s mental state when forget even not being there , they never even met him?”

“I can speak with certainty . We have audio, video , fans, peers, journalists at the show and I spoke to him+ asked security to go break down the door. You however cannot. If you have a problem with addiction imagine mine – I lost my husband to it. Enough! End the stigma!”

Someone wrote to Vicky, “I’m not making assumptions. I am saying that @vickycornell has said he wasn’t showing signs of depression, but of addiction. And I’m saying we all support suicide prevention but we focus where our efforts can fight the battles we feel will honor our loved one most appropriately.”

Vicky wrote back, “In order to prevent you need to know the cause.”

So we should ignore the fact I was on the phone w/ him + called security to go break down the door b/c he was so incoherent +impaired. Seriously? How can one argue w/ such conviction about someone’s mental state when forget even not being there , they never even met him?

I can speak with certainty . We have audio, video , fans, peers, journalists at the show and I spoke to him+ asked security to go break down the door. You however cannot. If you have a problem with addiction imagine mine – I lost my husband to it. Enough! End the stigma!

WASHINGTON, D.C. — FEBRUARY 21, 2018 — Vicky Cornell, wife of iconic singer, songwriter and Soundgarden, Temple of the Dog and Audioslave front man Chris Cornell, is joining the Advisory Board at the Addiction Policy Forum. As a member of the Advisory Board, Vicky will be joining former Drug Czar General Barry McCaffrey and former Members of Congress Alan Mollohan and Frank Guinta.

“I’ve learned a lot since losing Chris, including the fact that addiction is a brain disease – a disease that is both preventable and treatable,” says Vicky Cornell. “While I can’t bring my husband back, I can help the millions of other families struggling with addiction and I hope we can prevent this horrific experience from happening to others.” Vicky Cornell appeared on Good Morning America this morning and will appear on ABC’s Nightline tonight opening up about her husband’s tragic passing for the first time. She also highlights her plan to address the addiction crisis.

The Addiction Policy Forum is a national nonprofit focused on improving policies related to substance use disorders through a comprehensive response.

“We feel incredibly fortunate that Vicky is joining our Advisory Board,” says Addiction Policy Forum President and CEO Jessica Hulsey Nickel. “Addiction is a disease that does not discriminate and Vicky has seen first-hand how addiction impacts families.”

As a member of the Advisory Board, Vicky will support five strategic priorities:

The Addiction Resource Center is an online portal to help patients with a substance use disorder. This new platform includes reliable, evidence-based information about resources at the local level.

Research to Find a Cure. Together with our partners such as Faces & Voices of Recovery, the Addiction Policy Forum will launch the Addiction Science Initiative: Advancing Treatment and Recovery. This initiative will raise funds to support research by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)* on treatment and recovery from substance use disorders, including opioid use disorder.

A national crisis line. The crisis hotline will connect patients and families to available treatment, recovery and prevention services in the community. The service will be administered by social workers experienced in evaluating substance use disorders, and is expected to launch in April.

Children Impacted by Addiction. Over nine million children in the U.S. are impacted by parental substance use disorder. These children are at an increased risk for depression, suicide, poverty, delinquency, homelessness, and addiction. APF is launching a joint initiative with the National Association for Children of Addiction (NACoA) to ensure evidence-based interventions and support for our most vulnerable children nationwide.

Medical Education Initiative. The program will further the education of healthcare providers about the identification and treatment of SUDs. Few medical specialties have comprehensive training and tools available for their clinicians to underhand addiction and only eight percent of U.S. medical schools have a separate required course on addiction. This initiative will work with medical specialty areas, such as primary practice, as well as medical schools and other key clinicians to provide the training and tools doctors need.

A copy of Addiction Policy Forum’s released 8-point plan for addressing addiction in America is available here.

About the Addiction Policy Forum

The Addiction Policy Forum is a 501(c)3 established in 2015 as a diverse partnership of organizations, policymakers, and stakeholders committed to working together to elevate awareness around addiction, and to improve programs and policy through a comprehensive response that includes prevention, treatment, recovery, and criminal justice reform.

Chris Cornell (1964-2017) was a modern innovator who transcends genre. He was the chief architect of the 90s-grunge movement and remains one of the best voices of all time. Achieving multi-platinum success with three legendary bands – selling over 30 million records worldwide – he forged his own unique identity over three decades as a Grammy® Award-winning, Golden Globe nominated singer, songwriter, guitarist, composer and lyricist.

Vicky Cornell leads the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation formed in 2012 to protect vulnerable children around the world. The foundation supports organizations that provide shelter and resources for homeless, abused and at risk youth, children living in refugee camps, victims of human trafficking and children impacted by addiction.

Jessica Hulsey Nickel, whose own family was devastated by addiction, is the founder of the Addiction Policy Forum and the 4 million families they work with who are impacted by substance use disorders.

Again, if you were so concerned that something was wrong with him, why didn’t you call 911?

Oh, and I noticed that photos weren’t mentioned.

I say this because it was reported that after the show, Chris met the fans at the door to the theatre and both signed autographs and posed for photos.

So where are those photos?

How come they have never been seen?

Also, if you change your story about something more than once, then either you are not certain or you are lying.

Nicola

She is hoping fans have a short memory and will forget her initial statements. Not a chance

Violet Mfkr

where is the camera of the “bodyguard” doing all of this flipping out trying to get into his room? i mean wasn’t it a casino hotel?? and there’s no security footage? what was up with the front desk calling 911 and saying they had someone staying there “trying to hang himself”? so…how do they know he was “trying to hang himself”?? wasn’t he found dead? this shit just doesn’t make sense…

Kay B

What you have pointed out is the game Vicky is playing. The desk knew it was someone hanging themselves because Vicky was on the line with the bodyguard and Chris at the same time. That is why the bodyguard could tell the front desk how emergent it was. But Vicky thinks we are all too stupid to figure that out. I haven’t heard anything about the bodyguard since this happened. Vicky flew him out of the country the next day and that was that. I’d like to see the security tapes released and the phone calls.

Olga Stewart

Oh, I seen the bodyguard in a photo of Peter a few months back.

Violet Mfkr

i’ve heard nothing about bodyguard, either…since. wonder why they couldn’t or wouldn’t release the security cams from the hallway of this bodyguard trying to break down these doors…this shit just doesn’t make sense….wait–so she was on the phone with cc & bodyguard @ same time & bodyguard was at front desk as cc is telling vicky he’s hanging himself & BG is passing a long to desk??

makingconnections

Didn’t a news source say at some stage that Chris had called the front desk and said he was having a quarrel with his wife and if she called to not put her call through?

Olga Stewart

There was footage

The police reviewed it.

And that helped them to decide it was a suicide.

However, I don’t think they held onto the footage once it was reviewed.

makingconnections

The lack of a 911 call is the biggest mistake in my opinion Olga. Even a child knows to call 911. I wish she would stop trying to reinvent herself. It’s long over.

Olga Stewart

And I bet if someone asks her about this, there won’t be an answer.

makingconnections

No, we can’t expect for this to ever be sorted out. We can expect probably a lifetime of efforts to be in the spotlight. At some point we’re going to have to quit expecting justice for Chris. Her determination to be famous is huge.

Johnny Sparks

The biggest mistake was cornells inability to see the values in life

makingconnections

I think he had good values, but perhaps I’m not understanding. Could you explain. We can learn this.

Johnny Sparks

Been around two that hung themself..they had decent lives, children that loved them. But the victim of suicide doesnt recognize the love of their children, or see the negative impact that killing themself has on others. They only care about the impact life is having on them. Suicides not done due to terminal disease are acts of selfish people…these people usually find it unbearable to live another second, they don’t see the worth in living for anything or any one and they choose to die to heal their tortured self. While the the living suffer the tragic wake their selfish deed
produces. Cornell the Bennington a friend following a friend to the grave leaving the living with so many questions.

makingconnections

Thank you for taking the time to explain your perspective to me. I have a friend who was deeply depressed and when I asked about her small children (she was speaking of suicide) she told me that you become so frightened and unable to cope that children seem far, far away and feel that they’d be better off without you. Yes, the questions will be there forever I suppose….I hope some peace as well. I feel often that there are many different ways to leave and suicide is another.

Olga Stewart

I think it was more that be had a lapse in judgment where his second wife and her family were concerned.

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Nicola

You mean the real transcript, or the fale narrative VK make up to match her Blame Ativan program?

Violet Mfkr

now its the blame opiate program. confusing, right!? but set mind at ease BC she’s now and addiction expert 😉

Helen

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makingconnections

I hope the warning bells go off if she offers to be in charge of fundraising!

Olga Stewart

I think any and all money should be locked up.

Wild Orchid

The money 💰 ALL of it should go into a non partisan trust to be divided among only the children when they come of age

makingconnections

While reading about the “Addiction Policy Forum” of which Vicki Cornell is a member and promoted as one of their speakers, there’s a description of Chris Cornell. It’s embarassing. He’s described as “the chief architect of the 90’s grunge movement”. Who came up with that I wonder?

Violet Mfkr

question, guys n girls….am I correct that cc went to rehab for oxys or alcohol during his marriage to ‘Vicky’? I know he went a few times? just can’t remember..

makingconnections

Others are more informed on this that I am; however, I remember in an interview his speaking of being helped by one particular counselor and wanting to become sober. Yes at one stage he was taking oxycontin (sp?) but I understood he was in rehab because of alcoholism. He was married to Susan at the time. He left rehab and his first marriage and very quickly met Vicki Karayiannis and was divorced and remarried.

I don’t think Chris was involved with the opioids (Fentanyl) which are the focus of this crisis everyone in speaking of. It has a totally different dynamic than what Chris was taking caused. It’s volatile and dangerous because it’s largely taken in drugs purchased on the street and is the highest high available and some people become addicted and spiral downwards almost instantly, or overdose on their first exposure. The cravings are hard to manage and a person addicted to these drugs would not be functioning as a social justice advocate or a family man or performing in any way. It’s not like cocaine or some drugs which are performance enhancing. That’s why Vicki Cornell speaking on behalf of the Opioid Crisis infuriates me…..she’s not knowledgeable and wants to blend it together with all other addictions. No, this is a unique situation….dangerous, life threatening drugs are available and killing people. We will always have addictions to alcohol and other drugs. This Fentanyl business is completely different and she knows nothing of it. By blending her story as the wife of Chris Cornell into the Opioid Crisis she’s actually harming the cause and taking away the targeted efforts that need to be made to save lives. We need to get it off the street..block the imports from Asia and find a way to help the addicted, who do not respond so well as perhaps someone would in rehab for alcohol or traditional methods of getting high.
She should go to Alanon in my opinion. She’s out of her depth, as usual.
Sorry, yours was a short question that I didn’t answer well–I hope someone else will–but as usual, I find Vicki Cornell’s actions offensive.

Violet Mfkr

ty 🖤

Olga Stewart

Vicky and her employee Claire are now saying that Chris had a head injury.

Yet the autopsy report doesn’t mention that.

So she’s lying about that too.

Kay B

I think he did have a head injury. I have the last concert on dvd and I can see is head is raw in the back. The EMT said there was a head injury, But you are right it isn’t mentioned in the autopsy. I’d like to know why. An EMT will not miss or lie or mistake something like that.

Violet Mfkr

ohhh…interesting–i hadn’t heard that. that would have most def been in autopsy report…if true…..didn’t he supposedly say, as well…he couldn’t get the ringing out of his ears?

Olga Stewart

It was actually his in ears not working.

He was supposed to have complained to Vicky about that during that last phone call.

actually-it could be taken as he just admitted to going toa rehab in 2009, previously, for oxys…idk…i know i have read over the years he went for alcohol and oxys..just not sure of the years…i met him on a solo tour in 2007, i think, at house of blues in myrtle beach, backstage….he came up-shook my hand and said “i saw we had an old schooler here” and smiled..

makingconnections

Lucky you to have met him and to have seen his performances. Being in the backwoods most of my adult life, I’ve watched from afar!

I think we agree that Vicki knows very little about addiction, depression and is locked in her own head. That wouldn’t be such a bad thing if she wasn’t so high on herself and desiring the limelight so often. She’s overshared and her false narrative is all intertwined and suggests real attempts at manipulation.
It makes it obvious that Chris was on his own…as we all are in the end I suppose, but her saying: “Tell me what you took and I’ll forgive you.” will stay forever in my mind as the worst possible thing to say to someone who’s struggling. I thought most often a person asked another person for forgiveness and they made peace that way. She’s not playing with a full deck.

Kay B

Well we know how stupid that sounds….tell me…..I will forgive you…..Yeah okay. I’m sure she said that. What a perfect woman. I am blinded by her perfectness.

makingconnections

One of those women! I have a friend who says: “Some women make me ashamed to be a woman.”

makingconnections

You know, this evening as I think of the negative statements I’ve made about Vicki Cornell’s actions and words since her husband died, I feel that it’s not just about her. It’s about all women who feel they have the right to say and do anything regarding their life partner, that they don’t see them as an individual separate from them, who should be respected and treated with dignity, no matter what their struggle. Marriage doesn’t mean ownership in our society–that’s a backwards idea. Of course we’ll quarrel and have difficult times within our marriages, but that doesn’t mean we should “overshare” and if our partner is a celebrity, we ride on their coattails and expect fame because of our association with them. What’s wrong with her actions are wrong for all of us. She’s trying everything possible to try to be admired and it’s getting to be more and more at Chris Cornell’s expense. I find it disgusting.

Violet Mfkr

i’ve also read that before he called her (?) he was messing with the lights in the condo she was in (28 GRAND rent a month btw) turning on & off from his phone…but –also i read he hung up on her after he became “aggressive” ? or did she hang up on him? i still don’t get the “someone is attempting to hang themselves in a room” call to 911…from front desk…HOW the F did anyone know he was “attempting” to hang himself??

makingconnections

Thanks for the article. What struck me is that she asks for there not to be a stigma associated with addiction and she shows herself to be a person with multiple stigmas, especially towards depression.
I live on the West Coast of Canada and we have a huge Opioid Crisis here and have had for some time. Generally people are informed and non-judgmental about the problem and addiction in general. It’s amazing how it’s a priority in nearly every household to deal with it intelligently and not just because it’s affected them personally. I think much of what helps is that we get honest reporting, we’ve held those with influence accountable and I think people dying all around you, especially young, healthy people, brings all of us together. I’ll tell you one thing, Vicki Cornell is not knowledgeable on the issue, nor does she have the gifts to be a spokesperson for addiction. She lumps it all together and thinks it can be totally defeated. It will be baby steps in the right direction and she will never understand such a concept. She loves grand sweeping statements.

Kay B

Nail on the head with the first statement. Funny how that happens.

makingconnections

We had an intelligent ad about drug use put on TV last night as the Academy Awards were wrapping….funded by our Provincial Government. I’m proud of their efforts. We’re on the verge of having marijuana legalized here and there have been and continue to be many discussions around how it will be handled and sold. The Provincial Government listened to the people in Recovery who voiced their concerns over it being sold in liquor stores because so many alcoholics use it. It will be sold in storefronts instead, even though the liquor store idea would have been easier for them.

Kay B

Wow…just wow. He had 7 different drugs in his system the time of his death according to Vicky in the article. Is she aware Narcan was for saving a life of an overdose? Is she aware they were in therapeutic ranges? Obviously benzos are NOT a painkiller. She is dragging him in the dirt with this shit she is saying. How could a loving wife, as she claims, want to drag him down instead of being honest and say he had depression? Yes he relapsed we get that. But to say he was filled with these drugs is really grating my ass.

makingconnections

There’s nothing she wouldn’t do to make herself look like the innocent little woman who now is going to change the world. Nothing is below her–she has no sense of decency.

Olga Stewart

She doesn’t want to admit both who she really is and how she treated Chris.

Hence all of this nonsense now.

Violet Mfkr

yeah–saying ativan/benzos are for pain? wtf doctor told her that?

Olga Stewart

I thought he had the relapse in 2009?

Violet Mfkr

yes–that is what it appears from different articles–so that may have been his 2nd relapse/rehab on oxys? it’s not very clear in the articles…:/

Christina Hurst

Can u imagine that last call? Must be played over and over again in her head. Im sure that poor man was so done. #Nomorebullshit

Olga Stewart

That is probably why she has changed her story so many times.

She doesn’t want to be reminded of it.

Also, she is trying to take the guilt away from herself.

Diane Neame

So in the time her husband had hung up on her and she tells the body guard to check on Chris and the bodyguard asks for someone to let him in, but they wouldn’t, meantime Vicky tells him to break down the door, but it was too late Wow I would of had him busting the door straight away, every minute counts. If he was an addiction wouldn’t he of had more than therapeutic levels of drugs in his body and if you don’t think he killed himself, why was Chris cremated so quickly. I wish she would let Chris rest in peace, but instead she is using every angle she can to blame everything, but depression

Olga Stewart

Depression seems to be an ugly thing to her.

It isn’t.

And that is what makes me hurt for Chris: He was suffering from depression. And she just didn’t want to acknowledge it.

Violet Mfkr

yes! i agree….she doesn’t want to admit he wasn’t “happy”…with her/kids/life…guilt..she should or hopefully IS getting mental health help…

Olga Stewart

At the very least, those kids should be talking to someone about this.

Kay B

Agree,

Violet Mfkr

and remember there was-also, in that time ^^^ a 911 call made by front desk (i think) stating they had a “guest attempting to hang himself”….HOW did anyone know he was “trying” to hang himself??

Violet Mfkr

um…was any form of an opiate found in his system? addiction is a disease..life long, I get that…n in my personal opinion there is no other form of euphoria other than heroin….but I don’t think that’s the case here. if he had relapsed on OPIATES before the Soundgarden tour than they’re all fucking IDIOTS for putting him out on the road. period. she’s hiding so much. so much…OR she’s just a woman who obviously knew ZERO about her husband, of over 10 years….take layne staleys mom…she’s brutally honest about Layne’s addiction and death. no secrets or blame…he was an addict…self medicating for emotional issues…which obviously spun out of control. he was dead on his couch for 2 weeks…Cornell’s wife knew nothing..now she’s a fucking expert? on a fucking”board” now? jmfc… BTW…wondering if she taking anything, other than fucking selfies, for her emotional state?

Kay B

My guess is she is in denial. She would have to admit the man was not happy. She won’t address the fact he had depression. These would hint that quite possibly he wasn’t happy in his marriage. And that would point to her. So now instead she is talking about opiates….why? He had none in his system. Shame on her.

Violet Mfkr

i’ve also heard conflicting stories over if he had his medication on his person, to take @ will…and also i have heard “the bodyguard” was giving him his meds…

Olga Stewart

In the autopsy reports, the medication bottles are on the counter in the bathroom.

Which then makes me ask why did the bodyguard need to come and give him the meds if he already had them in the room?

makingconnections

I don’t think the Ativan was included with the other drugs. I do believe the body guard was taking care of them for him, which to me speaks of a person who was trying to be responsible….not an out-of-control opioid user.

Olga Stewart

Ah, I see.

But then why put other medication bottles on the counter?

Shouldn’t the bodyguard have been taking care of all of them?

makingconnections

Perhaps he wasn’t inclined to take too many of the others. I remember seeing one drug that was probably for his injured shoulder or even an illness that he had that he hadn’t told anyone about (prednisone–a serious drug!). We don’t know and sometimes people keep things very private. There was medication for migraine that he needed to take and a cold medication. It seems to me that Chris Cornell was a man in his 50’s with so much to cope with and he was simply trying to function and perhaps felt so much anxiety that he didn’t want to be tempted to take too many after being guided in ativan use by his doctor.

Violet Mfkr

exactly! i think i remember reading at first that the bodyguard was the one giving him the ativan bc i remember wondering wtf would the bodyguard give him extra meds? i used to manage a very popular techno DJ/producer & traveled with him a lot–anything like that…i held for him. i guess i was the “bodyguard”..lol oh…and i ALWAYS had a key to his room…always. in case he overslept, etc., before a show…or he needed something from room during his performance ..